Approach to Spiritual Health
“…our standard of care regarding a person's spiritual health is defined by what the Bible teaches us about God and ourselves.”
I never liked nursing research or nursing frameworks in school, but after working in healthcare for over seven years, I've come to see their value. They offer a useful lens for understanding how we approach "health" as a society. Of the frameworks I studied, Betty Neuman's nursing theory stands out because it explicitly integrates a spiritual variable into holistic care; something I believe is essential.
Nursing theory is an organized system of concepts and propositions that describes, explains, or predicts nursing phenomena, establishing the philosophical and practical foundations for holistic, patient-centered care (Chinn & Kramer, 2018, p. 155).
Neuman defines the spiritual variable as "the influence of spiritual or religious beliefs and values (e.g., hope, faith, meaning-making)" (Nurseslabs, 2025) on a person's entire client system: their physiological, psychological, sociocultural, and developmental dimensions. In other words, spirituality isn't peripheral; it's essential to how we understand health (Chinn & Kramer, 2018, p. 238).
Our clinic operates within an explicitly Christian spiritual framework. Given that "Christian" means many things in our current context, let me be precise about what we mean. We believe that God has revealed Himself to humanity in two ways: through creation itself and through Jesus Christ. According to the Gospels, Jesus commissioned His followers to proclaim His teachings about God. The apostles fulfilled this commission by writing what we call the Bible, a collection of eyewitness testimonies to God's character and redemptive work. Throughout history, Christians have regarded the Bible as the authoritative written Word of God, composed by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21, Legacy Standard Bible).
Therefore, our standard of care regarding spiritual health is rooted in what Scripture teaches. We believe that true spiritual health comes through communion with God, a relationship made possible through faith in Christ's sacrifice. Conversely, when someone is not living in fellowship with their Creator, spiritual pathology naturally results. And according to Neuman's framework, this spiritual stressor cascades through every dimension of the client system, affecting psychological, relational, physiological, and developmental well-being.
This may sound absolute, but there is an internal logic to it: if God created all things, then God alone rightly defines what constitutes true health. For those who reject a relationship with Him, the source of all life, the natural consequence is separation from the source of authentic well-being.
Of course, we live in a broken, fallen world, and this truth is complicated by sin, suffering, and providence. A Christian can develop cancer. Disease and dysfunction are part of our corrupted state; ultimately, we must rest in God's providence. Yet the fundamental point remains: true spiritual health, and thus true holistic health, flows from living in conscious fellowship with our Creator and Savior.
This framework shapes how we assess and treat patients. I will ask not only about symptoms but about your sense of meaning, hope, and your relationship with God, because we believe that these are inseparable from physical health. All of these things work together in complex ways, and it can be very difficult to find the root cause of a pathology. But our standard of care regarding a person's spiritual health is defined by what the Bible teaches us about God and ourselves.
If this paradigm resonates with you, whether you're seeking to establish ongoing care or addressing an urgent health concern, we are ready to help. Schedule your appointment below or contact us with questions.
Urgent Visit – $40 (typically 15 minutes)
Comprehensive Evaluation – $200 (typically 45 minutes)
REFERENCES
Chinn, P. L., & Kramer, M. K. (2018). Knowledge development in nursing: Theory and process (10th ed.) [Kindle]. Elsevier.
Nurseslabs. (2025, May 29). Betty Neuman: Neuman Systems Model (guide for nurses). Retrieved from https://nurseslabs.com/betty-neuman-systems-model-nursing-theory/